The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
When Drumtochty was children’ s little Norway
Nestling in the heart of the rolling Mearns countryside, elegant Drumtochty Castle and its lush wooded grounds and gardens offer an idyllic retreat, popular for weddings and gatherings.
Almost 80 years ago, though, it was a retreat of a very different sort – a safe haven for Norwegian children who fled the Nazi invasion of their homeland.
During the dark years of the Second World War, the castle was bought by the Norwegian government in exile as a boarding school for the young refugees.
Now, rarely seen photographs of life at the school – including visits by King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav – have been released by the National Archive in Norway.
A Norwegian masters student in history is researching the relationship between the children and the people of the local community of Auchenblae and the wider north-east.
Ragnhild Bie Nielsen, from the University of Agder, said of the children: “They had a traumatic background with the occupation of Norway and the dangerous escape in which many of them came in small fishing vessels across the North Sea, some in aeroplanes.”
In some cases it was a case of families grabbing what they could and fleeing, sometimes in open boats, as Nazi troops stormed the country in April 1940.
Ragnhild said: “A lot of them came from small communities and many fell ill from tuberculosis. They were not used to living in crowded environments in the big cities in Glasgow and London and so on.
“The Norwegian government in exile quickly decided they had to make an arrangement for these children to not only keep them safe from illness and bombs, but to make sure their education was still adequate for when they returned to Norway after the war.”
And Drumtochty Castle proved the ideal spot. Set in lush countryside, quiet and contained, it was opened with great ceremony and fanfare by King Haakon on November 2 1942.
The P&J also reported the story of one pupil, seven-year-old Per, who gained fame after arriving as a stowaway.
It said: “Per’s father had decided to leave him at home, but when the boat in which the journey was made was well under way, a head popped from under a tarpaulin and Per cried: ‘Here I am, father.’”
Ragnhild said she wants to explore the relationship between the Norwegian and local people during the war, especially at Drumtochty.
She said: “They wanted to keep the Norwegian system of education, but a big part of their tuition was to learn to speak to English so they could make do in the communities where they lived.
“How did they mix with the local community? Did they have a relationship with the Scottish (people) or was it just like a Norwegian bubble in the Scottish countryside.”
If you have any memories or stories about Drumtochty to share with Ragnhild, you can email her at rbn@arkivet.no